NEW ORLEANS — Arkansas State junior Thomas Schmidt was named Sun Belt Golfer of the Year, headlining the 2025 Sun Belt Conference Men’s Golf Postseason Awards and All-Conference Teams voted on by the league’s 14 head coaches.
The Red Wolves took home two superlative awards Schmidt’s Golfer of the Year nod and freshman Jake Wallis’s Freshman of the Year recognition. Coastal Carolina’s Max Bengtsson was named Newcomer of the Year and Troy’s Clay Bounds was honored with Coach of the Year.
10 of the Sun Belt’s 14 programs were represented across the three all-conference teams, while Troy and Arkansas State led the way with three selections each.
Earning Golfer of the Year for the second consecutive season, Schmidt was among the top players in the league with a single-season program record stroke average of 70.87. In 30 rounds played, he finished 31-under par posting seven eagles, 123 birdies and 319 pars among his 2,126 strokes. Schmidt finished tied for third in the Sun Belt Conference Championship and had a career-low round of 64 to open the event. Schmidt played 22 of his 30 rounds at par or better, finishing inside the top 35 in all 10 events this season, winning individual medalist honors at the Bubba Barnett Intercollegiate and UC San Diego Invitational.
Bengtsson joined Coastal Carolina this season after two years at Tarleton State. He played in nine events and recorded a 71.7 adjusted scoring average. The junior had two top 10 finishes and four top 15s with his best finish of the season being third at the General Hackler Championship, shooting a season-low 8-under par. Bengtsson finished tied for 11th at the Sun Belt Conference Championship at 2-under par.
Wallis had the best stroke average of any freshman in the league at 71.83. His 71.83 stroke average ranks fifth in program history and is the best for any freshman. Wallis ranked second on the team with his four eagles and 120 birdies and was 2-under par for the season. He shot a low round of 63 at the Golfweek Fall Challenge and finished at 9-under par for the event for one of his four top five finishes this season. At the Sun Belt Conference Championship, Wallis finished tied for 11th at 2-under par 214, going 3-under par 69 in the final round.
In his second year at the helm of the program Clay Bounds has Troy returning to the NCAA Regionals. The Trojans finished the season ranked No. 50, this highest in the league. Troy played 15 of its 33 team rounds under par this season and finished with a 286.79 average as a club, a program record. Bound also led Troy to multiple team victories this season with wins at Argent Financial Classic and the Daytona Beach Intercollegiate. The Trojans finished fourth in the Sun Belt Championship stroke play rounds.
2025 Sun Belt Men’s Golf Awards
Golfer of the Year
Thomas Schmidt, Arkansas State
Newcomer of the Year
Max Bengtsson, Coastal Carolina
Freshman of the Year
Jake Wallis, Arkansas State
Coach of the Year
Clay Bounds, Troy
Sun Belt Elite Award
Jake Springer, Troy
All-Sun Belt Conference First Team
Louis Anceaux, ULM
Parker Claxton, Georgia Southern
Malan Potgieter, Louisiana
Thomas Schmidt, Arkansas State
Brantley Scott, Troy
Jake Springer, Troy
All-Sun Belt Conference Second Team
Brantley Baker, Georgia Southern
Max Bengtsson, Coastal Carolina
Eli Ortego, Louisiana
Sakke Siltala, Texas State
Vaclav Tichy, James Madison
Hugo Thyr, South Alabama
All-Sun Belt Conference Third Team
Jack Burke, Texas State
Benjamin Fernandez, Southern Miss
Nick Fowlkes, Troy
Jack Maxey, Arkansas State
Drew Sykes, Coastal Carolina
Jake Wallis, Arkansas State